For many years, petroleum has been recovered from subterranean reservoirs through the use of drilled wells and production equipment. Petroleum hydrocarbons may be produced in a variety of forms, including liquid crude oil, natural gas and light condensates. To enhance the recovery of petroleum, a number of technologies have been developed. Common well stimulation techniques include hydraulic fracturing, water flooding and acidizing operations. Although liquid and gaseous products are typically encountered together, it may be economically desirable to enhance the production of one form of hydrocarbons over another. For example, economic factors may encourage the shift from a predominantly gas-focused production to a production that favors liquid crude oil. Because crude oil and natural gas have very different physical properties, and thus move differently through the porous media of the subterranean formation, the chemicals used for stimulating the well for the purpose of enhancing gas production may not work as effectively in enhancing oil production. As a result, prior art well stimulation and enhancement products have been formulated to recover a particular form of hydrocarbon, i.e., natural gas or liquid crude oil.
To permit the production of multiple forms of hydrocarbons from a given reservoir, well operators are required to use and stock multiple chemicals for treating the same well. Such practice also often requires additional equipment for handling multiple types of chemicals. The use of multiple treatment chemicals increases the cost and complexity of operating the well. Therefore, having a single stimulation product that enhances fluid recovery of multiple forms of hydrocarbons is desirable. It is to these and other objects that the present invention is directed.